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On a blustery, rainy Homecoming night, the Shoremen rallied late for a hard fought come-from-behind 20-18 win over a very tough Berea squad. Brett Bass had another long punt return for a score, Dontez Smith and Collin Lucas each ran for a touchdown, and Nick Skuggen’s interception with 3 minutes left secured the win. On the down side, a few old bugaboos returned to haunt the Shoremen, with some effeminate tackling in the first half and another long pass to a lonely receiver, wandering open far beyond the secondary. But in the end the guys in Maroon & Gold did what needed to be done to improve to 4-2 on the season and stay atop the SWC.

Berea kicked off and forced the Shoremen to go three and out. Max Seipel hit a beautiful 41 yard punt into the wind to the Berea 26. After a sack on second down made it 3^rd & 13, Dan Medvetz took an option pitch around right end for 15 yards and a first down. After another first down at the fifty, a holding call left Berea 1^st and 20 at their 40. A slip screen to the right resulted in a couple missed tackles and a 35 yard gain. Three plays later, CJ Snider scored from the one on a quarterback sneak. The PAT kick was wide left and the Braves led 6-0. After a pass interference call gave Avon Lake a first down at Berea’s 48, the drive stalled and Seipel rolled a punt down to the 16 as the quarter ended. Berea went three and out, and their punter hung a knuckleball high in the wind for a net of 15 yards to the Berea 40. Smith ran twice for four yards each, then Lucas carried on a counter to the 25. Jedlicka hit Danny Robinson for 12 yards, and Smith finished the drive with a 13 yard toss sweep to the left. Brill’s PAT gave A.L. the lead at 7-6. Berea managed a first down but had to pun again, this time a booming spiral that Bass caught at his 27. Brett dodged the first wave of tacklers, started left, and then cut back right and outran everyone for his third return touchdown of the year. Another perfect PAT made it 14-6 Shoremen with three minutes to play before halftime. But Snider found a receiver wide open behind everyone on a fade pattern down to the Shoremen 34. Berea’s huge tailback Brandon Haney broke a bunch of tackles on 4^th& 1 for a first down inside the 10. Two more powerful runs by Haney put the ball in the end zone, but luckily Berea decided to throw for the conversion. The pass fell incomplete and the half ended with Avon Lake clinging to a two point lead.

Berea moved into Shoremen territory on the first series of the second half, but four yard sacks on both first and second downs were followed by a series of penalties that left the Braves punting from their own 37 on 4^th and 35. The Shoremen went three and out, and a Michael Butrey sack on third down forced the Braves to punt it right back. Smith broke free for 39 yards to Berea 31. A false start moved them back five yards, and early in the fourth Seipel lined up to punt from the Braves’ 36. But Max couldn’t handle the snap and was tackled at the 45, giving Berea great field position. Snider completed a long pass as a DB fell down at the A.L. 25. A facemask penalty and two more runs led to an eight yard TD run by Medvetz. Another failed two point pass made the score 18-14. The Shoremen started from their 35 as the kickoff bounced out of bounds. Seven straight runs made it 1^st & 10 at the Berea 27. On 3^rd& six, back-to-back false starts backed them up to the 33. Berea returned the favor with a late hit about 3 yards out of bounds and then a facemask call. On 2^nd & goal from the 8, Lucas followed Smith’s lead block over the left side and crashed across the goal line with about three and half minutes to play. Berea’s attempt at a comeback ended when Skuggen picked off a pass over the middle, and the Shoremen ran out the clock.

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Avon Lake	0	14	0	6	20
Berea	6	6	0	6	18

	B	A.L.
First downs	14	14
Rush Yds	155	243
Pass Yds	133	12
Passes att-comp-int	11-9-1	3-1-0
Fumbles-lost	1-0	0-0
Penalties	10-73	8-45

B -- Snider 1 run (kick failed)
AL – Smith 13 run (Brill kick)
AL – Bass 73 punt return (Brill kick)
B – Haney 2 run (pass failed)
B – Medvetz 8 run (pass failed)
AL – Lucas 8 run (kick failed)